STRATUS Day Shares Simulation with BWHers

In a scene resembling an arcade, BWH patients and staff perused virtual reality simulators and robotic equipment during STRATUS Day, held on the second-floor mezzanine last week.

Hosted by the Neil and Elise Wallace STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation, the event offered hands-on simulation experience using some of BWH's exciting simulation technology, including patient models and procedural task trainers. The event was held in collaboration with the Center for Nursing Excellence, which hosted CPR and manikin practice. Visitors passing through took double takes at a patient model lying on a stretcher that blinked and even had a chest that rose and fell to simulate breathing.

"We helped almost 50 people practice CPR on manikins simulating different heart rhythms," said Nursing Program Director Dorothy Bradley, MSN, RN, director of the Nursing Simulation Center. "Nurses used it as an opportunity to demonstrate CPR competency, which they are required to do on an annual basis, but patients and visitors also asked for training. The large community education piece was unexpected and a great success."

Seth Jones, STRATUS medical simulation specialist, helped curious onlookers practice inserting an IV in a model arm. The arm is lifelike, with pressure points and fake blood, to best simulate the actual experience of inserting a needle.

STRATUS Medical Director Chuck Pozner, MD, explained to a group of BWH patients how physicians use robotic equipment to practice and hone their surgical skills.

The STRATUS Center brings medical simulation to life with two training suites, an equipped operating room, a laparoscopic/endoscopic/bronchoscopic virtual reality arcade, a microsimulation laboratory and a task-oriented skill lab. Advanced AV equipment allows digital video taping of simulation cases for education and debriefing. A recent addition to the center has been the development of a standardized patient program, using trained actors to imitate patients and family members to make the experience as true to reality as possible.

The center was designed to ensure that BWHers have the necessary expertise in various challenging medical situations. The simulators are programmed to replicate a multitude of scenarios-from managing a difficult airway to complicated multi-system failure. These situations may not be common, but they require practice and preparation. STRATUS Day offered BWHers and visitors a glimpse at some of BWH's most innovative tools and technologies.